Secrets St. James Montego Bay - Luxury - Adults Only - All Inclusive

Anniversary Celebration My husband and I came to Secrets St James in 2013 to renew our wedding vows of 40 years !!! We came back in Sept 2024 to celebrate 51 years of marriage .. It didn’t disappoint! The staff and everyone made us feel so special and like we were family . A few of the staff actually remembered us ! We had a beautiful Ocean front Preferred Room thanks to Nadia (UVC representative) She was wonderful!! Lisa and Ishana in the preferred club attended to our very need along with Chris Brown (the Bellman). Our favorite restaurant was with Chef Tinmar sr the Hibachi! He on the best show (if any Secrets that we had have been to ). Our favorite experience was the Romantic Dinner with Paul McDonald who gave us amazing service . It was such a special night as the sunset over the ocean was one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen !! I love how the resort is set up and the outdoors entertainment. The beach had plenty of Chairs and covered huts to lay under with plenty of waiters to attend to our needs . The water was beautiful with no seaweed and pretty views . The Barefoot Grill had great Jerk chicken/pork !! We have been to many resorts in the Caribbean and this resort continues to be among our favorite!!!

the hotel staff make this resort This was a last minute booking with minimal research. we normally use the Excellence brand and our comparison is to the experience we have had with them. Positives The hotel staff are the reason to visit this resort, their friendly welcoming outlook makes up for other shortcomings. We stayed in a club level swim out with a butler. The butler service is none intrusive, our butlers Chase and Dane, were outstanding they took care to ensure we were well looked after. I can not praise their professionalism enough and we do not think our stay would have been as enjoyable without them. the room was clean and well positioned with a great view of the pool and ocean, the swim out was good, the afternoon sun made it a nice relaxing place to be. The bar teams are great, the lady who looked after us at the pool was fun and made us laugh every day. Ketley at the none club bar was great to talk to and really enlighten us on the Jamaican culture, he also makes the best drinks. Access to Beathless was a nice touch and the restaurants and food were great. The beach is small but we never had a problem getting a bed, the ocean was lovely and we lost ourselves for hours just relaxing watching the water. it is the little things that made a positive impact, the Gardner who cut a fresh flower for my wife as we walked by, the staff always greeted you with a good morning and a big smile that we will remember. Air conditioning in the rooms, Wow we were cold sometimes. Areas of improvements The dinning experience was not the normal standard we have experienced at other resorts, consistency and presentation is lacking, we never went hungry or could not find something to eat but it was below expectations. We do not put this down to the teams but lack of management supervision and training. The lack of capital investment in this resort is showing, none of the restaurants have air conditioning and this makes dinning uncomfortable. The hotel is old and is showing its age, there needs to be investment otherwise it will slip further behind other brands, the team do an outstanding job of keeping it clean but the cracks are showing. Tip for management, putting in chargeable day beds is not investment, other resorts provide this for free. if returning was just based on our experience of the people who work there we would be back, but the lack of investment means we would not return.

100% would go back The staff was friendly and entergetic, just give some patience. I feel some areas could be better staffed for drink refills. Other than that, employees were very informative, fun, energetic, and were always smiling!

Secrets St-James overated Rated 5 stars , only 4 stars value , the activities are too expensive and the visits to the room are done 3 times a day, impossible to take a nap without warning the lobby, no do not disturb sign . ok beach, acceptable food, evening entertainment could be improved, only one band all week and way too much reggay, people don't dance

The good and the not so good Just spent 5 nights at Secrets St James. This is probably the 6th or 7th time we've stayed here over the years. Been to Breathless, Wild Orchid, and Hyatt Zilara also. We did stay in the preferred club, which is nice, but not necessary. Honestly you don't get much more for your money. First the really good things, the people that work at the resort are amazing. I honestly can't say enough positive things about them all. It's really the Jamaican people that keep us coming back. It starts with Jah-mal that greeted.us as soon as we got to the resort. Then Chris Brown, our bell hop, who is the friendliest man and always has a smile for you! Service from the pool bar was outstanding. Tyrone was spot on, along with all the ladies who worked the pool area. I'm sorry I don't remember their names. I also can't forget Shelly Ann over at the Bare Buns grill! She was a lot of fun and gave us fantastic lunch time service each day! For the disappointing things. I think the food options at dinner have really gone down. The menus are about half of what they used to be. There are no dinner buffets offered anymore. This is very difficult for people with dietary restrictions. Also, now they just put up pool side cabanas that they want you to rent daily. I feel like we are already paying for "all inclusive" and "preferred club" now they also want to have me pay for a cabana. I get it's a business, but when does it stop? They need to put more effort into fixing the roofs, updating the rooms, and getting back to more food and dining options before they start nickel and diming the customers. Bottom line, I will go back. But mainly for the people. Although next time we may try a different resort, even though I hate to say that.